Our precious son, Daniel Cleburne Reeves, was diagnosed with leukemia on April 30, 2007 when he was six-years-old. As I lay sleepless next to Daniel's bed in room 7926 at Carolina's Medical Center that first night, the one verse that stood out in my mind was Psalm 119:68 which says, "God is good; and what He does is good." Our hope is in Him.
Trusting in God’s sovereignty, Lee and I view this season of suffering in our lives as an opportunity to mature in our relationship to Christ Jesus and to grow even closer together as a family unit. I recall when a nurse came into Daniel's room the Sunday night after we were admitted and told me, "You know, God will not give you a burden greater than you can bear." I disagreed with her. That is actually not a biblical truth. The Bible says that God will not allow Satan to give us a temptation beyond what we can handle, but there is a tremendous difference between a burden and a temptation. If He did not give us a burden bigger than that which we could handle, then we would not have to depend on Him. This leukemia is bigger than us. But it is not too big for our Lord.
I’m constantly asked how we came to Daniel’s diagnosis. Prior to my April visit to the emergency room in Charlotte, Daniel had been having leg pain accompanied by fever and headaches off and on for about a week. I fed the fever some Tylenol and had excused the leg pain as common "growing pangs" until their persistency led me to take him into the Lake Norman ER at 1:30 AM. The on-call physician thought Daniel might have Rocky Mountain spotted fever and put him on antibiotics. The next day was pain-free and I decided to run some errands. As I drove to our local Christian bookstore to order two copies of Dr. James Dobson's When God Doesn't Make Sense for friends recently diagnosed with cancer, the Lord's providence had me in my car at the exact moment Dr. Dobson was interviewing a father describing his son's "severe leg pain" before his leukemia diagnosis. On that Saturday night, Daniel's leg pain recurred with greater intensity. After hearing the “Focus on the Family” radio interview the day before, I sensed that something serious may be going on with our little boy. Before we left for the Pediatric Emergency Room at CMC early Sunday morning, Daniel and I were in the bathroom and he asked, "Mommy, we've been praying for an hour that Jesus would take my pain away. Why hasn't He done it yet?" I replied, "Honey, God is making you into a champion and it takes time to build a champion."
Isaiah 26:8 declares, “Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” Lee and I invite you to witness the Lord’s unwavering faithfulness to us on a daily basis as you read this journal. Our purpose is for Him to get the glory. Daniel will continue to receive chemotherapy through 2010. We cherish your prayers for our family.
